The present invention, in some embodiments thereof, relates to the processing and displaying of image data and, more particularly, but not exclusively, to a system and method for video conferencing.
Videoconferencing has become a useful form of communication between parties for remotely conducting various forms of business, corporate meetings, training, and the like without traveling for face-to-face meetings. On a smaller or personal scale, videophone service or videotelephony enables individuals to communicate vocally and visually using special equipment.
It is well known that non-verbal messages form an important aspect of personal communication. It is a reason why people have a natural need to see the persons they talk to. The advent of low-cost webcams and the growing bandwidth for IP-traffic start to enable personal visual communication for people at home or in the office. A way to add impressiveness to the visual communication system, particularly give the users the impression to really be with the one they talk to, is adding a third spatial dimension to the visualization.
Inexpensive video cameras and microphones have been developed for interfacing to personal computers to enable vocal and visual communication over the Internet. Web cameras or webcams can be attached to liquid crystal display (LCD) monitors, directed at the user, and interfaced to the computer for acquiring live images of the user. A microphone mounted on a desk or the monitor is connected to a microphone input of the computer to receive the user's voice input. Many portable computer devices such as laptops, notebooks, netbooks, tablet computers, pad computers, and the like are provided with built-in video cameras and microphones. Most cellular or cell phones also have cameras capable of recording still or moving images. Such cameras and microphones allow computer users to engage in an informal kind of vocal and visual communication over the Internet, which is sometimes referred to as “video chatting”.